Belgian Farmhouse Saison
Aspen Brewing Co.

 

 

A sample led directly to a pint...it's damn good and spring is coming. The owner was at Blake St Vault - Denver giving this gold away. Whaaat?!

Very good saison! Orange tart slides into a light dry finish. Delicious!

 

Look: Two fingers of billowy off-white head quickly dissipates to a single finger but has some decent retention from there. This beer is a crystal clear golden yellow in color and has pretty active carbonation.

Smell: Fruity banana, orange peel, and bubble gum. Some clove and dry grass hiding just below the surface.

Taste: I knew this was 43 IBU going in and I was still pretty surprised at how bitter the finish really is. All the fruitiness of the nose really takes a backseat to spice and grass and a surprising amount of booze. Just a hint of tartness mid-palate quickly mopped up by the encroaching alcohol. Pretty complex and nearly well balanced. Supremely interesting.

Feel: Medium to medium-big in body. Texture is a little course. Dry finish.

Overall: A very surprising saison. I can see why this won a Gold at GABF but I'm not quite that impressed. It does some things very well (Great hop profile adding wonderful bitterness) while other elements detract from the overall experience (Alcohol covering up a developing tartness). Glad I got to try it though. Also, this isn't retired. Just seasonal.

 

Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at mrbubbler's tasting.

Pours a hazy gold with a foamy off-white head that settles to a small cap on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of grain, fruit, earth, spice, and yeast aromas. Taste is much the same with grain, fruit, earth, and spice flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Light amber color, lightly hazed, with an admirable creamy head. Bubbles streaming luxuriantly up the tall Brugse Zot glass. A lot of sediment in the bottle but not so cloudy when pouring. Beautiful brew.

This is an excellent example of a Saison, from tangy dry fruitiness to the creamy mouthfeel. Yeasty aromatics with a touch of citrus. Brewed with Kent Goldings and Sterling hops, according to the label, and there is a nice touch of hoppy flavors. There is just a modest bitterness towards the finish, but it does have that distinctive Belgian yeast flavor. A wee bit of the funk.

Overall this is restrained but flavorful. Fruity and zesty. One of the better Saisons I've had this year. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Mayfair Liquors in Denver. The printed-on-glass label is so much like the "Lips of Faith" series I thought it was a New Belgium product.

 

22oz bottle poured into a tulip glass.

A: Amazing, foamy, bubbly head. Rare to see this much carbonation in the head of American saisons! Super active tiny bubbles jumping from the bottom of the glass and interacting in the head. Slightly hazy, golden yellow color.

S: Lemon, orange, grass, and garden herbs.

T: Pear, lemon, some yeasty esters and hint of black pepper. Malt or sweet flavors not really noticeable. A little hop bitterness twinge here and there.

M: Refreshing with great dry, champagne like finish. Still some creaminess and lip smacking at the end. Slow, warm burn on the back of the throat.

O: Really solid effort here by Aspen. This has been their most impressive beer I've sampled and it's a welcome addition to the lineup! Look, smell, and mouthfeel were great. Wasn't as blown away by the taste, but the refreshing and dry nature of the beer made up for some of what was lacking in taste.

 

Thanks BA smoked for hooking me up with this 1-liter. Poured into a cervoise, the brew appears a clear golden color with a white sudsy topping more than 2 fingers strong.

The aroma includes notes of clove, wheat, peppery spice and a mild fruity rind element mixing with a suggestion of pear. Overall the nose smells dry yet balanced and complex.

The taste opens up with pear and clove before going to a mild yeasty route with spice like black pepper. A hint of wheat grain dryness leaves the palate clean, dry and snappy as expected for the style.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It is pretty easy drinking with plenty of flavors to pick through. I enjoyed this quite a bit, thank you Dan.